One dead, one injured in Anderson accident

Anderson County Deputy Coroner Josh Shore, left, works with South Carolina troopers to investigate a fatal accident. Walter Gerardo Ruiz De La Cruz, 29, of Walhalla was killed in the wreck Saturday morning on West Market Street west of the city of Anderson.

David Rogers, Special to Independent Mail

ANDERSON - A man died Saturday morning after the friend's car he was riding in hit a tree just west of the city of Anderson.

Walter Gerardo Ruiz De La Cruz, 29, of Walhalla was killed. The 2001 Dodge Neon veered off West Market Street near a corner, said Josh Shore, deputy Anderson County coroner. De La Cruz was the father of two young children and was engaged to be married, according to a report from Independent Mail coverage partner WSPA News Channel 7.

The accident happened shortly after 7 a.m. slightly east of Darby Lane.

The driver of the Neon, Felix Morales, 29, survived and was taken by ambulance to AnMed Health Medical Center in Anderson, said Lance Cpl. Scot Edgeworth, a South Carolina Highway Patrol spokesman.

Neither the passenger nor Morales were wearing seat belts, Edgeworth said. Morales was driving west and went off the road before hitting the tree, the trooper said.

Morales was listed as being in fair condition Saturday afternoon, said Heidi Charalambous, spokeswoman for AnMed Health.